The Life of a Butcher
by Nerrevarrine
Summary: Marie, the adoptive younger sister of Tsukiyama Shuu, doesn't actually know her history, only that she is of German descent. With a surgically enhanced kagune and an eventful past, Her life is pretty hectic. It's good that no one knows just how powerful this girl is; if they did, she could never escape. "M" because it's Tokyo freakin' Ghoul. My first fic. possible spoilers.
1. Prolouge: In which we meet The Butcher

**Okay, my first fanfiction. I hope it's acceptable. I would appreciate if your reviews could help me improve my style. If I do something horribly wrong, please tell me, but I would also appreciate if you could tell me how to correct it.**

**I own nothing.**

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**_SNAP!_** The serial killers head became twisted at an odd angle, but he didn't fall. He was instead dragged to a nondescript car and shoved unceremoniously into the trunk by someone with white clothing and a female figure. The monochromatic woman stepped into the driver's side of the vehicle and began to drive. As she was moving, she smiled. The CCG wouldn't catch her this hunt, nor would they catch her during the next. She never left things like footprints, nor did she happen to "forget" small items, She _CERTAINLY_ never left any kagune secretions. The only connection her targets had to one another was a tendancy towards violence. To the CCG, she was practically invisible and untracable (It was why they reffered to her as a ghost). The man following on the rooftops however. . . He would make things interesting.

Normally she would go directly home, but then again, _normally_ she wasn't followed. So as to not to give any hint of where she lived, she decided to set up in an abandoned building.

She started out by laying down a rubber mat. After placing the corpse in the center to reduce the mess, she drained the criminal's blood into the large containers she kept in her car. Once it was all collected, she separated the killer's limbs and used the knives from her glove box to separate the edible flesh from bone, placing it in large coolers she kept in the back. Once she was done with the limbs, she moved on to the torso: removing the organs and muscles, placing them in the coolers as well (She left the digestive system and genitalia intact though, no way was she eating any of _that_).

After cleaning up, the unwelcome guest finally decided to make himself known.

"So it's true what they say about you, Butcher. . . every last bit of it."

Getting a good look at the newcomer, the female smiled. She knew _those guys_ would send someone after her eventually, but this was a pleasant surprise.

"Ayato, how pleasant to meet you." She'd heard about him. An executive. They were going around, trying to recruit powerful individuals like herself.

To be honest, she was a bit surprised. She had expected Noro, Tatara, or even Eto herself. Either they grossly underestimated her abilities, or this guy was more powerful than he seemed. The Butcher decided it was probably the first option, but she was going to act like it was the second. If they underestimated her, she wouldn't make the same mistake.

At least they didn't send Noro or Yamori. Those two weren't good at "subtle." As it is, Ayato wouldn't draw too much attention. This little meeting wouldn't be noticed by the CCG at all.

Ayato faltered for a moment after being immediately recognised, but he regained his composure almost immediately. "I see you did your research. . . I really am surprised, you know. I figured that the assumption that you target criminals was the closest to the truth, but not only did you target a criminal, you went out of your way to leave no evidence whatsoever, and you went and chopped him up! If you had been a little more observant it would've been a perfect kill."

The woman's face betrayed nothing, yet she smirked inwardly, _so he thought he was unnoticed? Well, no need for him to think differently._ "Yes, I suppose that could use some work. So what, exactly, do you want?" She already knew, of course. Yamori had approached Rize (that careless glutton) only a few hours earlier and "asked" the same thing.

"Well. . . I was sent to offer you a place in our. . . organization." Ayato gave a little smirk with that bit.

_Smug bastard._ "and what happens if I say 'NO?' hmmm? what will you do then?"

Ayato's smirk grew. "Oh, see, you don't really _get _to say 'no,' you either come willingly, or I break your legs and carry you back to the 11th ward."

_Idiot. He just told me what he was going to do and how he was going to do it._ "I do believe you're mistaken in that."

Ayato grinned, and lunged.

Now, Ayato was fast, he could probably play table tennis against himself, and keep the ball moving easily. So when his attack was dodged with contempt by a ghoul whose kagune was known to be of the kokaku variety, he froze up in surprise.

There was a flash of pain in the back of his head, then nothing.

When he came to, the girl, and her car, were long gone. As was Ayato's favorite scarf.

"Bitch."


	2. In which we meet Ken and Hide

In a small coffee shop called "Anteiku" in the 20th ward, a young woman of german descent (Me) called "Marie" was rocking a well cared-for purple scarf. The news was playing in the background, talking about the "Binge Eater," but nothing about the vigilante ghoul called "Ghost" by the CCG. There never was. There never will be. Not unless I think it's time to go public. which I don't.

"Seems like there's a lot of ghoul attacks lately." That would be Hideyoshi Nagachika, or "Hide" as his friends called him. we're rivals of a sort. Constantly trying to outsmart one another. He has spiky orangish hair. "We always see them on the news, but never in person. Can we be sure they even exist?"

I was a bit exasperated. "of course they exist, idiot. If you DID see one you wouldn't live to tell of it."

"And how would you know? unless. . ." Hide paused dramatically "Marie, are YOU a ghoul?"

"Really Hide? again?" Ah, that would be Kaneki Ken. My best human friend in the world ever. "It seems like we can't have a single discussion about ghouls without you accusing Marie."

I took the opportunity to add my opinion. "yeah! stop picking on the albino!" Because of my condition, my hair was totally white, and my reddish-purple eyes weren't good for much more than reading (thank god for ghoulish hearing and smell). Because albinos generally couldn't see well, and I could function just fine, Hide often used it as an excuse to accuse me of ghoulishness.

"Well sorry, she just seems very ghoulish." Wow Hide, good intuition. "Isn't it creepy how they disguise themselves as humans?"

"I don't think they do it on purpose." What's this now Ken? You drawing something? "I think they're more like 'monsters in human form,' like that's just how they look. like this:" he held up a rather good sketch of a person with a kagune. Nagachika and I locked eyes for a moment, an evil smirk adorning both our faces, and we immediately began drawing.

Hide finished a few seconds before me. "I have a drawing of one too! See?" Oh you bastard, you got my nose all wrong.

"I have one as well." I smirk, holding up my rough sketch of the spiky haired menace.

"Just stop, you two, you'll get us banned." Oh Kaneki, the manager is too nice to throw us out for a bit of an argument. Why are you obsessed with this place? it's nice, but really.

"Why are you so attached to this place?"

Hide seemed appalled at my totally innocent question. "What's that supposed to mean? He's got a crush on someone who goes here." Oh. Touka? "I bet it's that fine waitress over there, isn't it?" Wait. . . did we both just pair Ken up with the rabbit-obsessed waitress? I think we did. WAIT, most people who go here are ghouls so. . . damn. I really hope he likes one of the less murder-ey ones.

"No it's hER. . ."

I looked over to see who he was made speechless by.

FUCK.

DOUBLE FUCK.

THAT'S THE FUCKING BINGE EATER RIZE.

NO SHE WILL NOT TAKE MY READING BUDDY.

_shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit__shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit_

Nagachika's voice jolted me out of my thoughts. "Marie, you alright? You had a scary look on your face. . . oh I get it. You've gone too long without your monthly feeding on human flesh, right?"

I was too concerned for my friend's safety to retort. "sorry, what did you say?"

Hide rolled his eyes. "I was just telling Ken here all about how she was way too good for him."

finally your attitude is good for something Hideyoshi. All I need to do is hammer the point home. "In this instance I agree with the ass." "HEY" "What would you do? Take her to the bookstore? Trust me, with someone of your meager social skills, you don't stand a whelk's chance in a supernova."

"What does a whelk have to do with a supernova?"

Oh my god. "It doesn't stand a chance in one."

Kaneki did seem a bit disheartened. "I suppose you're right." That's right my friend, don't hit on the binge eater. It's not worth it.

Hide left first, asking Touka for her number on his way out (it was kind of funny considering Touka's actual personality).

I tried to get Ken to feel a bit better. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find someone, just not _her._" I must have let some of the venom seep into my voice because he looked at me oddly.

As I was leaving I heard Rize's voice. "So I see you're reading the same book as me. . . would you like to maybe go to the bookstore with me? Maybe we can discuss some of our favorite novelists?"

Fuck. I forgot how much that glutton liked reading. Even if she wasn't looking to munch on his entrails, she'd have been attracted to the bookworm anyway.

Looks like I'm working the late shift.

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**AN: So, second chapter, Am I doing all right? Without reviews and suggestions I can't really improve my work, so don't be afraid to point out mistakes. **


	3. In which a clown is tormented

**Touka's POV:**

As I was walking home, I pondered The Butcher's odd instructions, _when Rize lures him into a secluded place, call me immediately._ Honestly, it's not like I would just stumble. . . _there they are._

"You coming, Touka?"

I had to answer vaguely. "Yeah, give me a minute Yoriko, I'll catch up."

She raised an eyebrow, but went ahead anyway.

I pulled out my phone and dialled the number I was given. "they're at-"

A muffled voice cut me off. "I know, thanks."

* * *

**Marie's POV:**

Fuck they were far away. Well, not really, knowing Ken and that idiot glutton, they were bound to go near that alley Touka always walks by on her way home, so positioning myself was easy, but I was on a ticking clock, goddammit!

I managed to arrive while Rize was still "Playing." sick bitch.

I hesitated briefly, wondering how I should do this. I then realized I was wearing my "hunting" outfit, he wouldn't recognize me (I mean, come on! Who just randomly imagines their friends in what is essentially a giant white onesie, with a matching scarf? No, don't answer that). My "unusual" kakugan emerged; my left eye was normal (well, for a ghoul), while my right eye had only a partial manifestation. It was like someone flicked black watercolor paint in my eye, then carefully added the iris. No one could explain the phenomenon.

Well, maybe "the surgeon" could, but he chose not to. And he's most likely dead at this point.

I had brought with me a quinque, one of the many I "retrieved" from dove corpses when I happen across conflicts (what, you think I do all my hunting in the 20th ward? Get real). The 11th ward has become a warzone lately, most of my quinques come from there.

My favorite was actually a bikaku-type I made myself, back when the Ghoul Hospital still existed, but that's a _long_ story for another time.

Just as I was about to jump in, quinque slashing, a bunch of steel beams solved my dilemma for me. Looking up, I saw another ghoul with a clown mask staring down. . . counting backwards by increments of 7? What the hell? I thought that was used by torturers and the CCG to keep their "toys" sane! what was this fucking clown doing?

I didn't dwell on it for long though. My pet human bookworm was bleeding out. I called an ambulance and prayed.

* * *

A few days later, Kaneki got out of the hospital. I heard some pretty disturbing things on the news before that though.

When I first heard about the organ transplant I wasn't surprised. Rize liked to "gently scramble" the organs of her prey. But then I heard the organs used were Rize's own, which are generally similar to a human's, but I was surprised the doctor didn't recognize the kakuho. Then I heard that it was Doctor Kanou, and I flipped my shit. Doctor Freaking Kanou's research was what allowed "the surgeon" to implant multiple kakuhos into my back, extending my kagune beyond natural limitations. The point is, Kanou probably not only recognised the kakuho, he probably stuffed it into the naive bookworm's back.

Ken is out of the hospital now. He only has a vague idea of it, but he's no longer human. He isn't a ghoul either.

I know all about these one-eyed ghouls. Never have I even heard of one below "SS" rank, much less seen one.

Who knows what kind of shit's about to go down?

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**sorry for the short chapter, it seemed like a good place to cut off for what I have in mind. Please review, it will make editing so much easier. Also, I was thinking of doing a seperate, Kaneki-less fic to explain a bit of "Marie's" mysterious past. It will include more Tsukiyama and Dr. Fueguchi, and perhaps some Eto. Should I do this sooner, or later when I have a bit more under my belt? I eagerly await your reviews.**


	4. Intermission: A Normal School Day

**Marie's POV:**

"I maintain my belief in your ghoulishness, you know." Hide and I were on the campus of Kamii, taking a walk, Hide for some extra shit he signed up for, and me, well, I was bored without my reading buddy.

It's been some time (a little less than a month) since Rize got crushed and Ken got her organs. I had asked Touka to help him, which probably meant she was going to force some "meat" down his throat the next time they met.

Truth be told I would've been the best to help, seeing as I was Anteiku's "Mystery Scrapper." The Manager, Renji, and Touka knew who I was, but no one else (customer or worker) knew that I was even a ghoul (my albinism gave me an excuse to wear copious amounts of sunscreen, it masked my scent).

The only ghoul outside Anteiku that really knew me was my psychotic "brother" named Shuu. He wasn't really related to me, as I was adopted by his parents. The fact that he and I have the same natural kagune is entirely coincidental, and it's about where the similarities end. He's flamboyant and dramatic, I'm subtle and quiet. He eats multiple times a month for pleasure, I eat multiple times a month because I'm running on six kakuhos.

Well, The only _living_ ghoul is Shuu. Dr. Fueguchi was, as far as I know, the only other survivor of the CCG raid on the "Ghoul Hospital." As a doctor in the main building, we were on a first-name basis. We kept communicating right up until 1st class investigator Mado found him. His family, who were getting food at the time, assumed I was just a human helper, someone "in the know." I'm fairly certain Hinami caught on at some point though (her sense of smell is legendary, even _I_ can't smell perfectly in the rain), but I don't think she knows for sure. She would've said something.

To sum it up, very few people know I'm a ghoul and I want to keep it that way.

"Hey, you listening?" Hide's voice jolted me out of my reverie.

"No, I'm not. You accusing me of being a ghoul _again?_"

Nagachika just rolled his eyes. "No you idiot, I was just talking about how we haven't seen Kaneki in a while, he's not answering his phone either." No shit, I suppose you haven't seen the inside of his apartment. When I snuck in to see what's up, human food was scattered everywhere. It looked like he'd only recently discovered coffee. "I'm just a bit worried about. . . him. . . HEY!"

Hideyoshi took off so fast I was knocked off balance, I watched him run right into Kaneki, who I smelled from a mile away. The base of his smell changed (from just human to a combination of human and ghoul), but the other parts were still identical. Wait, _why was he wearing an eyepatch_? I hurried over, catching the last bit of the conversation.

". . . eyepatch? You trying to be stylish?" Yes Hide, because a medical eyepatch that covers half your face is such a good fashion statement. Yes that was sarcasm. He _obviously_ doesn't want us to see something.

Come to think of it, I've heard about "one-eyed ghouls" before, is it possible the combination of human and ghoul organs has made him into the same sort of creature as Eto? Given the smell, it's likely. The eyepatch would make sense, too; supposedly the kakugan only manifests in one eye, hence the name. If that's the case and Ken is wearing that patch to cover the kakugan, he really should get a more fashionable eyepatch. That glorified bandage is just plain boring.

Eventually some guys came up, started a conversation that I tuned out, and we were off to visit Nishio Nishiki, or as Touka and I called him, "Shitty-Nishiki".

Along the way, Hide tried to make small talk with Kaneki. "You look rather pale, you eating alright?" Now that I think about it. . . I know for a fact Touka warned him about hunger. I knew Ken would have trouble adjusting, but there's no way he would starve himself. . ? right?

If he is, we have a ticking time bomb on our hands.

Anyway, we had arrived at our destination.

A few words about Shitty-Nishiki:

He's territorial.

He's childish.

He's independant

He's. . . actually pretty smart truth be told. Academically at least.

He's a ghoul with a high "A" rating.

He's also currently engaged in sexual foreplay with his human girlfriend, if the sounds coming from his room are any indication.

"shouldn't we knock first?"

Haha, of course not. I want to catch him in the act.

I pushed the door open, and we were noticed almost immediately. We didn't see anything more than a shoulder. Damn Hide, why are you so loud!?

Shitty-Nishiki spouted some nonsense about "territory" and "invasions" and turned around.

When he and Ken saw each other's face, their eyes widened. Did they already encounter each other? Probably. Come to think of it, his former feeding grounds were very close to the bookworm's apartment.

". . . look over there please?"

It took me a few seconds to realise I had zoned out. It happened frequently, but this time, it wasn't because I was deep in thought. I was hungry. Sighing, I brought out the flask of RC super-juice I always carried around. It was a combination of pure RC cells, some water, and ground coffee beans. I uncapped the flask and watched with amusement as both ghouls sniffed the air. Nishiki's kakugan flashed for a second, but he got it under control before anyone saw (except me. I see everything). The fact that nothing about Ken's visible eye changed confirmed my suspicion about him having a constant kakugan manifestation in his covered eye, he looked just as hungry, probably even more.

I downed the entire flask, re capped it, and put it back in my jacket before either of them could identify the scent, leaving the ghouls assuming it was just coffee with blood (It was quite well known that I actually used "animal" blood as a seasoning for human food anyway. Everyone just assumed I was weird and possibly crazy, but no one actually asked me why. Hide, being _Hide_, used it as evidence).

After a while of pointless searching (it was in Nishiki's bag the whole time, I wanted to let them figure it out by themselves), Nishiki "remembered" leaving it at home. Rather than going with them, I took that as my cue to leave.

As I left I caught Hide's whisper-communication: "I just get the feeling he's poisonous."

Damn right Hide, I have to call Touka. I don't think Ken has enough control over his new kagune to avoid the carnage he is capable of causing.

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_Le Timeskip_

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**Touka's POV:**

Things looked to be calm. After Shitty-Nishiki got his ass handed to him, he just disappeared. The half-ghoul was currently working at Anteiku, and absolutely failing to make a proper cup of coffee. At least he wasn't starving himself anymore.

"Don't worry, just be patient and. . ." I tuned out Marie, who was giving the former-human encouragement.

At this point, she was just buying more coffee just to give Kaneki practice. As she sniffed his latest failure, she flinched.

Kaneki was startled by that. "What, did I do that badly? where did I go wrong? Who? What? Wh-"

Marie downed it all in one gulp. Her expression was unreadable. "It was fine, Ken, I just smelled something. . . off. It wasn't the coffee."

I discreetly sniffed the air myself, there was a ghoul incoming, that much I knew for sure. But the scent was weird, like. . . cleaning products? There was something familiar about that particular combination, but I couldn't put my finger on it. At the moment, it was too faint, I could just barely smell it.

As she came over to pay for all the coffee, she slipped me a note.

It read "_brace yourself, HE'S coming."_ I ran through all the "he's" I knew. Who could make her act so nervous?

Shit.

I know who. If he saw her here, he wouldn't hesitate to broadcast her identity.

Sure enough, not five minutes later, a purple haired man wearing a fine european suit walked through the doorway.

"AH! This scent! This atmosphere! It is all quite. . . _wunderbar!"_

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**AN: Sorry if it's rushed. I just wanted to get the Gourmet arc out of the way. And yes, Tsukiyama does use german (****tschüss****). Pretty much any major European language is fair game for him.**


	5. In which The Butcher goes for takeout

**Marie's POV**

Of all the ghouls to discover just how delicious Kaneki smells, it just had to be my brother, didn't it?

_Scheisse._

A few words about Shuu: He's a creep, he eats for pleasure, and he is obsessed with fine dining and exotic ingredients. A one-eyed ghoul would be his version of French cuisine prepared by a five-star chef.

I suppose it's time to pay the old restaurant a visit. Or more than one. Knowing my brother, he would take his time.

* * *

This is my seventh night hiding out in the rafters. From the scent of Eau de Kaneki nearing, I can also assume it's my last one. Good. I've been stiff for the past week.

Sure enough, Ken, along with two others, walks right into the arena, and what sort of scrapper would come out but Taro? The fat bastard. He had Kanou written all over him. Shuu made his dramatic entrance, talking about how Taro would carve them all to bits, and then they would be eaten. The guy that was lured in with Ken was in denial, poor fellow, and believed it was an act right up until the point where he was chopped up.

Honestly, I was only here for the show at this point. The saw was clearly normal steel, and wouldn't cut ghoul-flesh.

As I was making to leave, I noticed someone giving Taro a new saw. On closer inspection, I realized it was a Quinque.

Well, so much for _that_ plan.

Sighing, I readied my kokaku (my other kagune were trump cards I don't want to reveal). Metallic ribbons sprouted from underneath my shoulderblades. Two "ribbons" wrapped around my arms, loosening at the joints, becoming more flexible. Two more went over my shoulders, hardening over my chest area, and softening after reaching my abdomen. They twisted themselves down my torso, and wrapped around my legs, softening at the joints yet again, and enveloped my feet. Finally, two smaller and softer tendrils emerged from my back, twisting up the back of my neck, and separating into multiple "ribbons" to wrap around the lower half of my face, forming a cage-like mask and hardening. The completed armor resembled a kakuja, but it wasn't quite as large. The remaining kokaku cells formed a tough membrane in the gaps, resembling a pulsing, red bodysuit underneath a purple shell.

I launched myself from the rafters, feet first. My momentum made my foot blast right through Taro's head. The resulting splatter stunned even the most hardened patrons; after all, they never expected the scrapper to be scrapped.

I suppose the metric shit-ton of RC cells I wasn't currently using helped with the amount of force I could apply, after all; kakuhos are dense. And heavy. And I had four extras just sitting there, not being used. I'm like a small building that's been compressed into the shape of a person.

* * *

**Kaneki's POV:**

I couldn't move, I just couldn't move. How can that much blood fit into someones head? And who is this person? How did she make a freaking crater only _after_ she launched herself _through_ someone's head?

Her armor-like kagune concealed much of her form, but she was clearly female. For some reason, she smelled suspiciously like sunscreen, and when she spoke, it was with a very subtle German accent, almost as if she had grown up here, but learned to speak German before Japanese.

"Dear brother, why must you literally bite off more than you can chew? I thought I made it clear that any of my friends were off limits a long time ago."

Friends? I know this person?

Wait. . . that voice, the copious amounts of sunscreen, MARIE?!

So Hide was right all along. Heh, go figure.

* * *

**Marie's POV:**

I think my little splatter-show was quite effective. It definitely got the point across. Over on the side, one of the patrons (Madam A, I think she was called?) yelled something angrily, but I honestly didn't care.

Truth be told, I probably just gave away my identity with the line about Shuu being my brother and Ken being my friend, but the thing is, the senses of the other ghouls worked to my advantage here.

You see, ghouls rely almost too much on their sense of smell for identification: they will use it to tell who people are, to connect faces with kagunes and bodies, to find both friends and enemies. Ghouls have come to rely on smell so much, they epically fail at recognising an individual with a single overpowering scent, even if that scent is quite obvious. In my case, it's sunscreen. I use lots of it, and from the scent, other ghouls can learn nothing other than the fact that I wear sunscreen. They're not good with inferences.

The one-eyed ghouls were a different matter. They were more human and therefore unpredictable. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if Ken made the connection already. He wasn't an idiot, just a bit naive.

Of course, Shuu already knew who I was. "I apologise, sister, he just smelled so. . . _magnifique._ You know how important I find true gourmet ingredients. Your. . . 'friend' would undoubtedly fit into that category. You see, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity! How many ghouls do you think smell like a human?"

Oh Shuu, you really don't get it? "Several, the One-Eyed Owl comes to mind, I think trying to eat him would end about as well as this though."

My adoptive brother had the tiniest of smirks adorning his face. "Very well. Take him away from here if you wish, We shall instead eat the Scrapper you have so delightfully prepared for us. Madam A, do not fret, you will be compensated for the loss." Damn right Kaneki's going with me.

"Let's get you to your apartment."

* * *

"So you've been a ghoul this whole time Marie?"

Like I said, He's naive, not stupid. I turned around, retracting my kagune, letting my face be seen. "Yeah, and if you're about to say I'm a bad friend for not telling you, consider the fact that everyone who knows my identity, with the exception of my adoptive family, found it out because I was careless. I can't be making exceptions, even for my friends. ESPECIALLY for my friends. 'A secret shared is a secret no more' and all that."

After I finished my rant, Ken looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "No, no, I was just curious as to _why_. Other ghouls tend to stick together, strength in numbers you know? But you go out of your way to hide from _both_ sides. Why? What if you get discovered by the CCG?"

I sighed. "Long story short, I used to work for an organization called the Ghoul Hospital. Because it was composed of so many people, the CCG tracked one ghoul down, and the whole thing fell apart. Once the doves realized what they stumbled upon, they came in force. It was a massacre. The only reason I survived was because Dr. Fueguchi had me babysit his kid so he and his wife could have a day off. Everyone who went to work that day, everyone who wasn't feeling up to scratch, there were no survivors. To this day, ghouls view even a simple illness as a death sentence."

Kaneki blinked. "That's depressing. So you keep yourself isolated so you won't get caught?"

That. . . was emotionally draining. All I could do was nod and say: "Goodbye. I'm going to go cry myself to sleep now."

I'm sure the bookworm said something real intelligent like "Huh?" "Eh?" or my favorite; "Wait, what?" But I was already gone.

* * *

**I am so sorry for the late update. I don't know what happened. Hopefully you'll be seeing more soon, that is if I don't forget. Again. I really am sorry, here have a box of donuts:**

**(o) (o) (o) (o)**

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**Also, The bit about having four extra kakuhos was not a mistake, Her total kagune makeup is:**

**2 ukaku,**

**2 kokaku,**

**1 rinkaku,**

**1 bikaku.**

**that gives us a total of 6 kakuhos, she was using both kokaku to envelop her entire form, leaving four extra. Also, that little quip about being the weight of a small building wasn't actually that big of an ****exaggeration, in the canon you see ghouls storing massive amounts of RC cells in tiny organs in their backs, so said organs must be exceedingly dense. Now imagine six of them, two of which are kokaku and one of which is rinkaku, making about half of her kakuhos several times denser and therefore heavier than the others, which require ghoul bodies to use effectively anyway. **

**Please review.**


	6. In which The Gourmet gets owned

**AN: I. . . am not dead! I'm not dead! I am truly sorry for not updating sooner, I have no excuse. Thank you for your patience whoever reads this! **

* * *

**Marie's POV:**

Well _scheisse._ Here I am taking a _very_ enthusiastic walk through the 20th ward (wearing that _very nice_ scarf that Ayato "gave" me), and it smells as if my idiot brother and the bookworm are in the same room, with a human and. . . is that Nishiki? This isn't good. I'm going to have to intervene _again._ Will Shuu's antics ever allow me to rest?

Probably not.

Damn.

* * *

**Kaneki's POV:**

". . . And THIS is a real kick!"

Gee, I couldn't tell. Thank you, Captain obvious!. . . I've been spending too much time around Marie; she's rubbing off on me.

Tsukiyama was talking again: "What type of attack would you like to experience next?"

I couldn't answer, I had the wind knocked out of me. Luckily, I didn't have to, as we heard another voice, one that seemed slightly familiar reverberate around the room. It spoke in another language:

"_Lasst meinen Freund, Dummkopf. Oder ich werde_ _dein Gliedmaßen _ _entfernen. Schmerzhaft."_

Tsukiyama barely had any time to respond before Marie came out of nowhere and used some sort of metal pole to knock him halfway across the room. She was wearing what I would eventually refer to as her "Ghost" outfit; a white wet-suit that a scuba diver would wear, combined with white sneakers and rubber gloves. The only bit of color was her purple scarf, wrapped around to hide her face, and her odd partial kakugan. Her scent, as always, was masked by a metric shit-ton of sunscreen, even though it was dark out.

Surprisingly (or not when you consider the fact that he was a well-fed ghoul), the Gourmet stood up shakily, but seemed to recover quickly.

Tsukiyama said "Ah, sister dear, you did quite a bit of internal damage with that attack, but within a few minutes I should be back in top shape." He frowned, "Honestly Marie, Touka is much more civil, do you realize how inconvenient it is to re-grow tissues on vital internal organs? That wonderfully cold waitress would most likely create a wound that delivers immediate pain, but is ultimately superficial."

Marie's face was covered, but was frowning judging by her tone: "I never have been good at pulling punches, you know this. Why do you keep trying to eat Ken even after I warned you of the consequences?"

"Oh, sister dear, You must know by now that gourmet food is my true weakness, I simply cannot help myself! Your. . . 'friend' is so rare! Almost unique! That is why. . ." His kagune emerged, a kokaku, off-centered like Touka's, coiling around his arm, ". . . I **will** have this meal, even if it kills me!"

Marie snorted. "What, with all this? Why do we have another ghoul here, and his human girlfriend? How could this setup possibly work for anything at all?!"

The gourmet seemed all too ready to explain, funny how his attention seemed to be entirely diverted from me. "Well sister, I'm glad you asked. See, I was going to use the human as 'spice,' you know? Eat Kaneki while he eats her and all that? But apparently this young upst—

***CRACK***

***THUMP***

And just like that, Marie put her brother into a pole-induced coma. She had moved so fast, so unexpectedly, that it took me a moment to process what happened. By the time I came to my senses, she was marching toward the altar Kimi was on, mumbling: "Get 'em monologuing, never fails."

As she got closer to what I hoped would _not_ be Kimi's final resting place, Nishiki, who was probably incapable of putting up a fight at all, moved in between them. It was clearly painful for him to move like that.

* * *

**Marie's POV:**

"Out of the way _Arschloch,_ I'm not going to hurt her."

My voice surprised even me, although it was mainly what I meant that had that quality. I wasn't going to hurt her?

I suppose so.

Despite the fact that it was _Nishiki's_ girl, I sort of felt a connection to her, We had both been unwilling parts of Tsukiyama's harebrained schemes. I suppose I would've felt bad if she died.

Anyway, I pushed past Nishio (it was pitifully easy in his weakened state) and untied his girlfriend. I was always curious about why snake-boy (a name I had once called him due to the serpentine quality of his kagune) would fall for a human, perhaps it was his extreme (even for a ghoul) territorial instinct, maybe he just couldn't let another ghoul, even a female one, into his life. It was actually quite sad.

Meh, who knows.

After all was said and done, I called Yoshimura. I was never good at making sense of the aftermath. Instead, I opted for finishing the walk I had set out to do originally.

And I did so.

With _much_ enthusiasm.

* * *

**AN: Well, that was nice. No it wasn't. I just couldn't write the Tsukiyama arc. I know, it's no excuse, and I'm sorry. Hopefully I can update faster from now on. Ooh! quick preview; Marie actually has her own group that Anteiku doesn't know about (well, maybe Yoshimura does, but he knows everything and is a badass). There are seven members in total, cookies to whoever can guess the concept they represent! We'll meet Greed in the intermission between this ark and Hinami, so, next chapter. And just on the side, writing in a language you have little knowledge of is hard, so forgive me if my German is awful. I'd also like to ask for input for the prequel: I'm almost certain I will do it, the question is, should I do it sooner or later? I'll put up a poll. **


End file.
